LAWS OF MALAYSIA
REPRINT
Act 204
BILLS OF EXCHANGE
ACT 1949
Incorporating all amendments up to 1 January 2006
PUBLISHED BY
THE COMMISSIONER OF LAW REVISION, MALAYSIA
UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE REVISION OF LAWS ACT 1968
IN COLLABORATION WITH
PERCETAKAN NASIONAL MALAYSIA BHD
2006
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BILLS OF EXCHANGE ACT 1949
First enacted
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1949 (Ordinance No. 75
of 1949)
Revised
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1978 (Act 204 w.e.f.
29 April 1978)
PREVIOUS REPRINT
First Reprint
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2001
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LAWS OF MALAYSIA
Act 204
BILLS OF EXCHANGE ACT 1949
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
PART I
PRELIMINARY
Section
1.
Short title
2.
Interpretation
PART II
BILLS OF EXCHANGE
Form and Interpretation
3.
Bill of exchange defined
4.
Inland and foreign bills
5.
Effect where different parties to bill are the same person
6.
Address to drawee
7.
Certainty required as to payee
8.
What bills are negotiable
9.
Sum payable
10.
Bill payable on demand
11.
Bill payable at a future time
12.
Omission of date in bill payable after date or acceptance after sight
13.
Ante-dating and post-dating
14.
Computation of time of payment
15.
Case of need
16.
Optional stipulations by drawer or indorser
17.
Definition and requisites of acceptance
18.
Time for acceptance
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Section
19.
General and qualified acceptances
20.
Inchoate instruments
21.
Delivery
Capacity and Authority of Parties
22.
Capacity of parties
23.
Signature essential to liability
24.
Forged or unauthorized signature
25.
Procuration signatures
26.
Person signing as agent or in representative capacity
The Consideration for a Bill
27.
Value and holder for value
28.
Accommodation bill or party
29.
Holder in due course
30.
Presumption of value and good faith
Negotiation of Bills
31.
Negotiation of bill
32.
Requisites of a valid indorsement
33.
Conditional indorsement
34.
Indorsement in blank and special indorsement
35.
Restrictive indorsement
36.
Negotiation of overdue or dishonoured bill
37.
Negotiation of bill to party already liable thereon
38.
Rights of the holder
General Duties of the Holder
39.
When presentment for acceptance is necessary
40.
Time for presenting bill payable after sight
41.
Rules as to presentment for acceptance and excuses for non-presentment
42.
Non-acceptance
43.
Dishonour by non-acceptance and its consequences
44.
Duties as to qualified acceptances
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Bills of Exchange
Section
45.
Rules as to presentment for payment
46.
Excuses for delay or non-presentment for payment
47.
Dishonour by non-payment
48.
Notice of dishonour and effect of non-notice
49.
Rules as to notice of dishonour
50.
Excuses for delay in giving notice of dishonour
51.
Noting or protest of bill
52.
Duties of holder as regards drawee or acceptor
Liabilities of Parties
53.
Funds in hands of drawee
54.
Liability of acceptor
55.
Liability of drawer or indorser
56.
Stranger signing bill liable as indorser
57.
Measure of damages against parties to dishonoured bill
58.
Transferor by delivery and transferee
Discharge of Bill
59.
Payment in due course
60.
Banker paying demand draft whereon indorsement is forged
61.
Acceptor the holder at maturity
62.
Express waiver or renunciation
63.
Cancellation
64.
Alteration of bill
Acceptance and Payment for Honour
65.
Acceptance for honour supra protest
66.
Liability of acceptor for honour
67.
Presentment to acceptor for honour
68.
Payment for honour supra protest
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Lost Instruments
Section
69.
Holder's right to duplicate of lost bill
70.
Suit on lost bill
Bill in a Set
71.
Rules as to sets
Conflict of Laws
72.
Rules where laws conflict
PART III
CHEQUES ON A BANKER
73.  Cheque defined
73A. Knowingly or negligently facilitating forgery
74.  Presentment of cheque for payment
74A. Presentment of cheque through document image processing system
75.  Revocation of banker's authority
Crossed Cheques
76.
General and special crossings defined
77.
Crossing by drawer or after issue
78.
Crossing a material part of cheques
79.
Duties of banker as to crossed cheques
80.
Protection to banker and drawer where cheque is crossed
81.
Effect of "not negotiable" crossing on holder
81A.
Non-transferable cheque
Special Provisions Relating to Endorsement, Etc.
82.
Protection of bankers paying unindorsed or irregularly indorsed cheques,
etc.
83.
Rights of bankers collecting cheques not indorsed by holders
84.
Unindorsed cheques as evidence of payment
85.
Protection of bankers collecting payment of cheques, or certain other
instruments
86.
Application of certain provisions to instruments not being bills of
exchange
87.
Saving
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Bills of Exchange
PART IV
PROMISSORY NOTES
Section
88.
Promissory note defined
89.
Delivery necessary
90.
Joint and several notes
91.
Note payable on demand
92.
Presentment of note for payment
93.
Liability of maker
94.
Application of Part II to notes
PART V
SUPPLEMENTARY
95.
Good faith
96.
Signature
97.
Computation of time
98.
When noting equivalent to protest
99.
Protest when notary not accessible
100.
Dividend warrants and banker's draft may be crossed
101.
Savings
102.
Repeal
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ACT 204
Laws of Malaysia
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Bills of Exchange
LAWS OF MALAYSIA
Act 204
BILLS OF EXCHANGE ACT 1949
An Act relating to Bills of Exchange, Cheques and Promissory
Notes.
[Federal Territory, Johore, Kedah, Kelantan,
Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor and
Terengganu--31 December 1949, Ord. 75/1949;
Malacca and Penang--1 August 1959, Ord. 30/1959;
Sabah and Sarawak--1 July 1965, L.N. 260/1965]
PART I
PRELIMINARY
Short title
1.
This Act may be cited as the Bills of Exchange Act 1949.
Interpretation
2.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires--
"acceptance" means an acceptance completed by delivery or
notification;
"bank holiday" and "public holiday" respectively include, as
regards any State, any day declared to be such under any written
law for the time being in force in any State and includes any day
(other than a Sunday) observed as a weekly holiday in any State;
"banker" includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or
not, who carry on the business of banking;
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ACT 204
Laws of Malaysia
"bankrupt" includes any person whose estate is vested in a
trustee or assignee under the law for the time being in force
relating to bankruptcy;
"bearer" means the person in possession of a bill or note which
is payable to bearer;
"bill" means bill of exchange;
"delivery" means transfer of possession, actual or constructive,
from one person to another;
"foreign currency" means any currency other than currency--
(a) of Malaysia; or
(b) which by reason of any agreement or arrangement entered
into between the Central Bank and any other monetary
authority of another country, is deemed to be inter-
changeable with the currency of Malaysia;
"holder" means the payee or indorsee of a bill or note who is
in possession of it, or the bearer thereof;
"indorsement" means an indorsement completed by delivery;
"issue" means the first delivery of a bill or note, complete in
form, to a person who takes it as a holder;
"note" means promissory note;
"suit" includes action, counterclaim and set-off;
"value" means valuable consideration.
PART II
BILLS OF EXCHANGE
Form and Interpretation
Bill of exchange defined
3. (1) A bill of exchange is an unconditional order in writing,
addressed by one person to another, signed by the person giving
it, requiring the person to whom it is addressed to pay on demand
or at a fixed or determinable future time a sum certain in money
to, or to the order of, a specified person, or to bearer.
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Bills of Exchange
(2) An instrument which does not comply with these conditions,
or which orders any act to be done in addition to the payment of
money, is not a bill of exchange.
(3) An order to pay out of a particular fund is not unconditional
within the meaning of this section; but an unqualified order to
pay, coupled with (a) an indication of a particular fund out of
which the drawee is to reimburse himself or a particular account
to be debited with the amount, or (b) a statement of the transaction
which gives rise to the bill, is unconditional.
(4) A bill is not invalid by reason--
(a) that it is not dated;
(b) that it does not specify the value given, or that any value
has been given therefor;
(c) that it does not specify the place where it is drawn or the
place where it is payable.
Inland and foreign bills
4. (1) An inland bill is a bill which is or on the face of it purports
to be--
(a) both drawn and payable within Malaysia; or
(b) drawn within Malaysia upon some person resident therein.
Any other bill is a foreign bill.
(2) Unless the contrary appears on the face of the bill the holder